The Dead and the Damned

Nightmares of the Nutmeg State

Happily Ever After

25

FEB/12

Kris receives a phone call from an old FBI buddy, warning him that senator Elliot Montgomery has flagged his file during a financial review and will be conducting an investigation for fraud. Kris will have his assets frozen and his pension stopped pending the outcome of the ivestigation. Kris begins attending to his assets to ensure he can continue to operate during this time. He also begins his own investigations into the senator.

Mark receives a visit from the local Warden, Luthor. There is a rogue practitioner in the state, and Luthor wants Mark to do the legwork to find him. He tells Mark this is a test, and if he succeeds he will begin the process anew for getting Mark another shot at becoming a Warden. Despite initial objections, Mark aquiesces. He has not seen or heard from Elwynn since the night at the bookstore.

Calliope finds herself dealing with a series of serious burn victims. One of them is able to tell her that it was a kid who did this to him, some kid just looked at him and set them all on fire. Calliope doesn’t get much more out of him but sets out to learn more about this incident. She discusses with some colleagues and discovers that there was a similar incident, about a week ago, near a club in New Haven. All the victims in that fire were dead before paramedics could even arrive. The club is not too far from the Magic of Books. Calliope heads out there to see what she may be able to learn.

Kris’ investigations reveal the senator has a teenage son who is currently held in a mental institution in Hartford, called Beacon Hospital. Kris sneaks in, avoids the staff, and finds some odd records (some records have the patient labelled as “food”) in Victor Yorkshire‘s office. There he also finds the kid’s file and location. He discovers John Williams in a state of extreme despair and apathy. He gains John’s trust and learns that the reason he’s in the hospital is because he witnessed his boyfriend kill a group of punks who accosted them. His boyfriend, Daniel Morris, just stared at them and somehow burned them all alive. Daniel ran away and when John went to his father for help, he was instead sent here.

Mark visits the Magic of Books and learns that Charlie met with someone and the two of them left the store and area for some time. Mark goes through some older newspapers looking for any unusual killings and discovers that about a week ago, three gang members were found in the alley of a nearby club, burned to a crisp. Witnesses gave police the description of a person they saw fleeing the scene, but police are still looking into leads. Mark heads to the alley and performs a ritual which confirms that magic was used there to kill the kids. While there, he meets with Calliope.

Calliope and Mark discuss the implications of people being killed by magic, and why they can’t call the Wardens to deal with it (because Mark is doing the legwork in their stead). They contact Kris and compare notes, and realize they now believe they know who is responsible – Daniel Morris. They go to speak with his family, who haven’t heard from him in over a week. They manage to get some personal effects from Daniel’s room and Mark uses magic to track him to an abandoned building in Bridgeport. Kris discovers he has a FBI tail but manages to shake them.

In the abandoned building, Calliope decides to try and peacefully confront Daniel while Kris and Mark hold back. She gets his side of events and learns how scared he is of what he can do, what he has done and what he may do. She is able to calm him and convince him to come with her. She tells him she knows of a place where he can be safe – with her parents, who are themselves White Council members. Daniel accepts and is brought there. Once Calliope goes to sleep Mark and her parents summon the Warden. Luthor takes Daniel away while Kris, Mark and Calliope’s parents solemnly watch. No-one has the heart to tell Calliope what Daniel’s fate is likely to be.

The next day Kris confronts the senator to call off the investigation, using his knowledge of the senator’s son as leverage. The senator, defeated, calls it off and Kris goes back to life as usual. The senator calls his friend, Dr. Victor Yorkshire, to talk about this turn of events and to discuss his son. Victor thanks him for looking into Kris and lets him know he need do no more at this time. Victor also assures him that the boy needs to stay under his care for some time longer.